Suchergebnisse

Embedded in the theories of epistemic fairness and militant democracy and based on the qualitative document analysis, the case study deals with the research question: What is the epistemic fairness of threats' definitions included in the restrictions on the freedom of speech on the Internet in the Inner Six states? The article delivers initial evidence to support the theorygrounded assumption that epistemic fairness in legally defining threats to liberal democracy is a component of militant democracies that makes democracy last and not erode. Slight deviations from the principle of epistemic fairness in defining threats to democracy in France and Italy coincided with an incidental reduction in the quality of democracy. This is the first case study on militant democracies using the theoretical category of epistemic fairness. Preliminary conclusions incentivize more extensive comparative research, including other restrictions to democratic freedoms.

The militarisation of the South China Sea has specific implications for the regional security situation. The construction of artificial islands and platforms by the states of the region leads, on the one hand, to the assertion of their possessions and the enhancement of their security and, on the other hand, contributes to rising tensions in the region. The construction of such facilities by Vietnam goes unchallenged, there is no criticism and even some support – not so with China. Most countries see Vietnam as the country most able to stand up to its large neighbour. Vietnam otherwise operates more slowly and on a smaller scale, so it is commonly seen as defensive as it builds on islands that have belonged to Hanoi for decades and are close to the mainland coast.

Georgia, deprived of its own hydrocarbon resources, relies exclusively on the import. It has abstained from purchasing those from the Russian Federation for political reasons, which, combined with the lack of LNG terminal infrastructure, has led to the factual monopolization of crude oil and natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan. For geopolitical reasons, Georgia remains the only export route for Azerbaijan for these resources. Easy access to those resources due to its position as a transit state has an impact on the tempo of energy transformation in Georgia. On the one hand, the significantly lower than expected dynamics of the development of renewable energy sources, and on the other hand, the growing role of Azerbaijani national companies in the market of liquid fuels and natural gas in Georgia, are visible consequences of the emergent status quo.

The main consequence of rapidly progressing globalization is the strengthening of new, dynamically developing economies. The paper includes the author's reflections on the European Union's strategy for the Indo-Pacific region, which is responsible for 60% of global GDP and 2/3 of global economic growth. As a result, this makes that neighborhood an area of conflicting interests and rivalry between the economically strongest state entities. Despite the relatively late involvement of other foreign players in the region, the European Union is also trying to strengthen its position in this area. On September 16, 2021, the "EU Cooperation Strategy in the Indo-Pacific Region" was established. The author of the paper will try to answer two main research questions: (1) What influences the shape of the European strategy towards the Indo-Pacific region? and (2) What obstacles does the European Union face in the process of shaping its relations with representatives of this region?

The financial crisis started in 2008 and touched the whole world but some countries experienced its consequences more than others. The European Union and in particular eurozone, slid into a stage of economic recession. Five of 28 EU countries faced the edge of financial fall, named PIIGS-Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Multidimensionality of the global crisis have caused that international economic organizations faced a great challenge, For them it was a test of efficiency and effectiveness. The leading role in this period belonged to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is standing on the guard of the whole international currency system. The aim of the article is to draw and analyze the most important IMF activities towards PIIGS, especially what instruments were proposed as a help and what changes had to be made by receiving states in order to receive the financial support. The ten-year perspective taken in the article allows for the more comprehensive assessment of the issue.

The main objective set by many countries is ensuring security. The means to accomplish this goal are the armed forces, obliged to guarantee safe functioning of the state and its citizens. There are states, for which maintaining a powerful, modern army has enormous significance for their superpower status, for their preparedness to a potential conflict or as a deterrent for the neighbouring states. Therefore, in the following text I will deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, because of its history, and especially due to the region where it is situated - one of the hottest places on Earth, full of misunderstandings, disputes and conflicts causing that the states situated there, including Vietnam, are modernising their armies.

This paper aims to present a case study analysis of the condition of the electoral system in the Republic of Belarus after more than a quarter of a century of independence. The main purpose of the paper is to explain the discrepancies between legislation and practice. The author intended to note a real situation that dominates the country's political scene in comparison to theoretical establishments. A Constitution of the Republic (created in 1994, with minor changes in 1996 and 2004) is the legal ground of the electoral system, however, procedural details were drawn up in the Electoral Code. The principles of Belarusian electoral code consist of some statements known from democratic models, such as universal suffrage, direct suffrage, secret ballot and equality. There are different types of elections in Belarus but the most important ones are presidential and parliamentary elections. Despite the detailed legal rules for conducting these elections, in fact, the principles of democracy, as well as the internal rules in Belarus, are not respected. Both presidential and parliamentary elections have shown this in recent years. Independent observers for a long time have been alarming about worrying electoral practices in Belarus. It is also worth emphasizing that since 1994, one man has been in power uninterruptedly, and Parliament has in fact a symbolic function. In the source materials, the author used Belarusian legal acts, analyses and reports, press notes as well as scientific papers.

In recent years, the South China Sea area has become the arena of competition between the countries of Southeast Asia that set up claims to maritime areas and the islands, and, all the more, want to control and exploit what can be found under the seabed, namely the deposits of oil and gas. The situation in the area cannot even be resolved by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 1982). Apart from the resources found in the sea and under the seabed, this body of water is an important shipping route, which makes it a strategically significant area for each of the countries located there, or those whose interests involve the South China Sea. In this work, I describe the current situation in the waters of South China Sea: whether the countries bordering it strive for conflict or just secure their interests. It turns out each of the states will set up demands to the islands on this sea and especially to everything that lives in the sea and is to be found under the seabed. Minor, and also more significant incidents will happen, but it does not seem likely that any serious open conflict between the states of the region will break out in the close future. None of the countries pursues it and they do everything they can to maintain the status quo.